Jaded No More

He was by far our hardest working forward. His second efforts were excellent and he covered a hell of a lot of ground. For a 196cm player to get 27 disposals in the rain, is an excellent showing and deserves recognition.

So we're a game and a half out of the 8. In 9th are North, who are half a game in front of us (but we have a better %), and who we play in Rd 22. Their opponents for the rest of the year are Freo, St Kilda, WC (at Subi) then us. In 8th are Sydney, who are 1.5 games in front of us. Their opponents for the rest of the year are Hawthorn, Freo, Bulldogs and Brisbane. I'm going to guess that both of these teams will definitely win another game between now and the end of the season, and so will we. That means we MUST beat Richmond, we MUST break our embarrassing AAMI record (and Port have won 2 out of their last 3 and just beat Hawthorn, so it won't be easy) and we MUST beat North. If that happens, we should make 8th spot. Of course in a perfect world, our place in the top 8 will come at the expense of Carlton who are also 1.5 games in front of us. Their next 4 games are Essendon, Richmond, Geelong and Freo (at Subi). If they only win one more from here and drop to 9th and we sneak into the 8, it would just about be the best thing to happen to this club since Jordan McMahon kicked the winning goal. Bliss!

Out: Bennell, Johnson In: Trengove, Moloney I'm leaving LJ in for one more week. Afterall he has missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, and he should have a good game against the Tigers if Bails gives him a spray for his half-arsed efforts over the last couple of weeks. When is Grimsey back?

Never to be seen down at Casey again!

I would have disagreed with you before last night, but watching Garland demolish Fev left me comfortable with the decision to leave Warnock out of the side for now. Until one of our defenders drops their form, Warnock will struggle to get back. I don't necessarily like it, as I think Warnock is a better defender than Rivers (quicker and about par for ball use), but that's what happens when you're in good form. On the other hand, it would be complete and utter madness for us to trade him. KP defenders don't grow on trees, and you can never have enough depth in that department. What we'd get for him, given he isn't a big name or a big accumulator of possessions, would not be anywhere near the value that he gives us... even as a depth player.

Not taking anything away from that particular game, but Garland and Buddy are a good match athletically, but to see Garland beat a forward much much stronger than him, was great. It was a side of his game that I haven't seen from him yet. I bless the medical team and our good fortune for getting him back on the field. It would have been a massive blow to lose him to his dodgy foot, when he has the skills, pace and strength to become an elite defender. Hopefully good management will see him play 200 games for us.

A star below his shoulders... always has been. Now that his brain seems to be switched on (maybe his brain is in his toe and that was the issue all along? ), he is performing at a level which does justice to his immense natural talent. You don't get picked third in the draft if you possess no skills. Credit to him for turning his career (and I assume his life) around and making it to 100. Can't wait to see what the next 100 games bring.

His disposals are cringe-worthy? WTF? Go watch him play again. He has very very good hands, and is a beautiful kick. Conditions tonight were horrible, so much so that Simon Black was missing targets. Watts' reluctance to kick goals is the only thing that annoys me right now, and that's only because I'm selfish and want to see him kick a bag!

Let's not get carried away here. Between us and finals stand a Hawthorn game, an AAMI Stadium game, and the hope that other teams fail miserably between now and week 1 of the finals. And even if we do make the finals, it would be a miracle if we progress past week one. At the start of the season most here agreed that 8-10 wins would be a very good result, and we're on track to achieve that. Anything else is a massive bonus.

Bailey made special mention of him when interviewed on Fox Sports after the match. Credit to him for turning his fortunes around after getting a 1 year deal to basically prove his worth. Nothing I love more than players who forge a career for themselves purely on determination.

It's amazing what a difference it makes when the bulk of supporters watch the game on TV and get a close up look at the work that McKenzie does around the stoppages. I bet those who watched the game live wouldn't be giving him 5 votes tonight. He is a gun! 6- Sylvia (brilliant again!) 5- McKenzie 4- Garland 3- Frawley 2- Bartram 1- Watts

Just goes to show how important it is to start the game well, because it's easier holding a lead then chasing it. We won the game in the first half and resisted against the Lions' comeback in the second. Last year we would have conceded 10 goals in the third and lost the game by 50 points. Jurrah for mine was very poor. I know we have unrealistic expectations from a guy who has played a dozen games, but he kept losing his feet and not making any serious defensive efforts. He can only be used as a forward decoy for so long. If he has another stinker next week I'd drop him to find touch with Casey. On the plus side, McKenzie and Watts will be fighting it out for a rising star nomination this week and Scully has done his chances of winning no harm. Our backline is amazing. Garland destroyed Fev before he popped a groin muscle and Chip dominated against Brown. Bartram gave Ranga Banfield donuts and even Jared smashed his opponent.

When was the last time you didn't go "hang on, who is Frawley playing on?" Chip dominating a clearly injured Brown. Not a great quarter but we stood firm against their run. With 2 on the bench we should run this game out. But what we should do and what we will do is a very different story.

Not getting ahead of myself but... Good half *puts lid back on*

Anyone who played last week would have been stiff to miss out, and personally I would have dropped Bennell ahead of Maric, just for the sake of giving Maric a bit more game time in the seniors, but come on, our captain was not going to spend another week in the reserves! For mine the only late change I can see is Warnock. He's probably going to be the "traveling" emergency.

Rohan Bail has a higher goal-per-game average than Paul Johnson. PJ has only kicked 19 goals in his entire career, yet he is apparently a greater Demon than the guy in number 11 who won a Brownlow Oh what's that? you don't know what you're talking about? I'm shocked.

So...... this thread has made some great progress

WHERE THE FECK DO I SIGN? I'd sell my soul for just the one.

Don't disagree with anything you've said actually, but I just watched the replay and I gotta say Bail was very influential. He didn't get huge numbers, but he was involved in so many quick transitions. Nearly every one of his possessions put us into a scoring shot or release us onto the wing. His speed and ball use were very very good, and I think he adds an element of dash that we really need, especially in the absence of Grimes. He wouldn't be on my list of players to drop.

I'm getting worried. 2 days in a row of the media pumping our tires = certain loss coming up

Every club in the AFL has benefited from draft concessions, salary cap concessions or early picks at some point. The Swans enjoyed many salary cap concessions, and have chosen to trade away many of their draft picks. It was inevitable that at some point, after long periods of success, that their aging list would catch up with them. There is no doubt we actively tried to lose game last year, but we have also been truly rubbish for 3 seasons and deserve the picks we've received. Every other club in our position would have done the same thing last year, and let's not forget, that we only got Trengove (who didn't even play on Sunday), because some spud kicked a goal after the siren. Besides, our best players on Sunday were guys who we drafted outside the top 10 (like Frawley, Bail, Bartram, Garland), or rookies (like Aussie, Davey, Jamar, McKenzie, Jurrah). Our first choice picks in Scully and Watts did not win us the game, and Trengove didn't even play. So let other supporters have a whinge. It takes nothing away from our performance, and will take nothing away from our future success.

And what a worthy leader too. Probably our most consistent player this year alongside Green and Jamar, and that really reflects in the votes. Wouldn't be surprised to see those 3 making up the top 3 in the B&F, with Moloney in the mix as well.

He didn't say Bennell was his best on ground, he said that Bennell's chase with 4 seconds left in the game, was probably his favourite highlight from the match.

The reality is, that if we want to win, we need to play our best available team, and that means playing Moloney, Junior and IMO Warnock, who needs to play on Fevola. Scully is due for a rest, and there were sightings of Dunn on crutches post-match, but other than that it's going to be a case of match-ups, and some players being very stiff to miss due to matchups. We are no longer pissfarting around with games. If we're serious about winning this game, which is VERY winnable on form, then we can't be leaving behind our captain, our best clearance player, and the best defensive solution we have for Fev/Brown.

Since I get it completely wrong every week... Melbourne to lose by 16 goals Sylvia to get a 12 week suspension for punching Brown in the nuts Jack Watts to announce pre-game that he is moving to the GC If the complete opposite happens (i.e.- we win by 16 goals, Sylvia kicks 12 goals and Watts announces he signed for 10 years) do I still win?